WSU Common Reading Archives: 2008-09

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach

The Author

Mary Roach is a columnist and an author of four books including “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” (2003).

She graduated from Wesleyan University in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Roach then moved to San Francisco with some friends to work as a freelance copy editor.

Her writing career, however, began at the San Francisco Zoological Society, where she wrote press releases on topics such as elephant wart surgery. She also wrote freelance articles for the local newspaper’s Sunday magazine.

In addition to “Stiff” her books include:

“Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife” (2005)

“Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex” (2008)

“Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void” (2010)

Roach mostly writes books these days, but still writes the occasional magazine piece. In 1995, her article called “How to Win at Germ Warfare” was a National Magazine Award Finalist. In 1996, her article on earthquake-proof bamboo houses took the Engineering Journalism Award in the general interest magazine category. She also reviews books for The New York Times.

The Book

Cadavers have been involved in science’s boldest strides for 2,000 years. “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” is a compelling and often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem.

“Stiff”, a New York Times bestseller was published in 2003. Topics covered by the book range from black-market mummies to head transplants to how to know if you’re truly dead.

Roach’s first book started out as an offshoot of a column she wrote for Salon.com. It was a reported humor column, where she covered amputee bowling leagues and the question of how much food does it take to burst a human stomach.

Common Reading Tuesdays

The Common Reading Tuesdays series was created during the 2008-09 academic year for the WSU Common Reading program. The series engaged more than 3,500 students in academic inquiry and discussion through lectures, panels and other events.

Common Reading Tuesdays featured evening presentations by faculty on their research and interest areas that were related to “Stiff” topics. Those included descriptions of exploring DNA in ancient human remains, forensic investigations using insects and plants, and perceptions of body image, for example. A traveling Frankenstein exhibit, movie showings, museum displays, and panel discussions rounded out the Common Reading semester.

For the 2008-09 academic year, the Common Reading Tuesdays events included: